Resumption of talks with Pakistan a conscious decision: India

New York, Feb 11 (IANS) India Friday said its move to resume talks with Pakistan on all outstanding issues was a “conscious decision” but made it clear that it expected Islamabad to take steps to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai carnage. “It is a conscious decision that was made,” Krishna, who touched down here Thursday on a two-day visit, said.

“We will have to sort out all the outstanding issues between our two countries,” said Krishna, who has come here on his first visit to the United Nations after India became a non-permanent member for a two-year term Jan 1, 2011.

“We are hopeful the talks between the foreign secretaries will go in a direction that is positive and pave the way for a bigger meeting (between the foreign ministers) whenever that will be,” he stressed.

“Nothing is static in relationships between countries,” Krishna replied when asked what made India agree to talks at this stage amid widespread perception in India that Pakistan has not done enough to punish the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks.

“India expects that Pakistan will continue to take steps to bring to justice all the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks,” he said.

“Having taken that position it is necessary for our two countries to engage on various other issues where we will be able to come to reasonable agreements, which will be beneficial to the people of both the countries,” he added.

India Thursday announced that it was ready to resume discussions with Pakistan on all issues after wide-ranging talks between foreign secretaries of the two countries in the Bhutanese capital Sunday. While agreeing to resume talks, New Delhi, however, refrained from mentioning the composite dialogue that covered structured talks on eight issues of interest between the two countries that included terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir.

The agreement to resume talks was reached during a meeting Sunday between Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in Thimphu on the sidelines of a South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting.

The details were disclosed on Thursday after both sides had briefed their governments.

The composite dialogue between the two subcontinental neighbours stalled after the Nov 26, 2008 terror carnage in Mumbai unleashed by ten Pakistani terrorists that left 166 people dead.